Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center hospital located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the primary teaching hospital for Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Along with its Prentice Women’s Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, the hospital provides a total of 894 inpatient beds and encompasses more than 3 million square feet of medical building space. Virtually every medical specialty is represented by the over 1,600 physicians on the medical staff at Northwestern Memorial who also carry faculty appointments with Feinberg.[2] It is the third tallest hospital in the United States and the fifth tallest hospital in the world.

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Northwestern Memorial Hospital is ranked as the sixth best hospital in the United States,[3] ranked number one in the Chicago metro area,[4] and ranked number one in the state of Illinois [5] according to the 2013-14 U.S. News & World Report America's Best Hospitals "Honor Roll" report.

In the 2013-2014 US News and World Report list of "Honor Roll" Hospitals, listing the top 17 medical centers in the United States, Northwestern Memorial Hospital was ranked sixth and first in Illinois.[3]

Northwestern Memorial Hospital was created September 1, 1972 by the consolidation of two of Chicago’s oldest established hospitals – Passavant Memorial (founded 1865) and Wesley Memorial (founded 1888). Northwestern Memorial’s predecessor hospitals had their roots in Chicago’s Lutheran and Methodist Episcopal deaconess movement, spiritual communities of women organized during the 19th century to provide for the sick and needy.

The (old) Prentice Women's Hospital Building

In 1914 philanthropist James Deering made a $1million gift to Wesley Memorial to support free care and solidify the hospital’s relationship with Northwestern University’s medical school. Wesley agreed to join Northwestern University on its new North Side campus in 1924, but funding for construction of a new building was delayed until the 1930s. In the interim, Northwestern University offered Passavant Memorial an affiliation and site for a new hospital, which opened in 1929. Wesley Memorial’s new facility was completed in 1941, and over the next thirty years the two institutions, located across the street from each other in the Streeterville community, served as the primary teaching hospitals for Northwestern University Medical School.

Over time, the hospitals began collaborating on a number of clinical services and teaching programs, setting in motion plans for a long-contemplated merger. The process accelerated with the 1966 establishment of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, focused on joint purchasing, shared facilities, graduate medical education and development of a group practices, furthering joint planning efforts towards a unified medical center.[7]

In 1994, construction began on a new 2-million square foot facility on the block bordered by Fairbanks Court, St. Clair, Huron and Erie Streets. On May 1, 1999, the 17-story Feinberg Pavilion and 22-story Galter Pavilion opened. A model facility for healthcare providers, hundreds of local, national and international tour groups visit Northwestern Memorial Hospital each year.

On October 12, 2015, Northwestern Memorial Hospital (“Northwestern”) named Julie L. Creamer (“Creamer”) as its first female President. Creamer, a nurse, received her BSN from Marquette University and holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Shortly after graduating from Marquette University she began her nursing career at Northwestern and became a part of the hospital’s management team in 1996. She was instrumental in the planning and construction of the new hospital which opened in 1999.[11]

Northwestern Memorial is Chicago's only academic medical center participating in city and state Level I trauma networks and as a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. The hospital's partnership with Erie Family and Winfield Moody Family Health Centers and the Lawson House YMCA has improved access to health care to communities in need and the homeless.[12] The hospital reports it provided community benefit contributions totaling $276.7 million in 2010, including $44 million for charity care.[13]